Dear Senator Kennedy:
I must first say that I always was and still am a true believer in what you described
in your speech at the 1980 Democratic Convention
"I am a part of all that I have met
To [Tho] much is taken, much abides
That which we are, we are --
One equal temper of heroic hearts
Strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."
For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on,
the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.
And you also said:
"You know," he continued, "very few of us are that
gullible." And four years later when the Republicans tried that trick again, Franklin
Roosevelt asked, "Can the Old Guard pass itself off as the New Deal? I think not. We
have all seen many marvelous stunts in the circus, but no performing elephant could turn a
handspring without falling flat on its back."
Recently, you endorsed Barack Obama for President in what is the most
moving speeches I have heard since originally embracing the words and the spirit of your
brothers in the 1960's.
You asked to us to believe again. I would so like to abide by your request,
but I have a condition that can easily be met with a brief moment of your time and the
signature from your hand to prove to me - and thousands if not millions of other Americans
and people around the world - that there is something to believe in, that there is reason
to believe and that there is tangible proof that I should trust you again and take your
advice to help elect a man who says he represents change you can believe in.
The audacity of hope cannot replace the necessity for action.
I ask you to do one simple thing: write a letter to
Senator Patrick Leahy and the Judiciary Committee. I am told that only a letter
from one Senator is required to open an inquiry. I do not think that is too much
to ask. There is ample evidence.
The real questions are, do you still have the courage to
stand up - one more time - to a pressing issue that has never been resolved? And if not,
will Senator Obama truly carry the mantle forward into the next generation?
The letter I request you write to Senator Leahy would address an issue that you
are uniquely qualified to address given your involvement on the Church Committee, and as
expressed in this letter to Senator Leahy
from an attorney representing hundreds of victims of active, ongoing,
violent, life-threatening U.S. Government crimes against American citizens - AKA
state-sponsored terrorism against its own people - as expressed in the summary of
the Church Committee:
- Unsavory and vicious tactics have been employed -- including anonymous attempts to break
up marriages, disrupt meetings, ostracize persons from their professions, and provoke
target groups into rivalries that might result in deaths.
-
- Intelligence agencies have served the political and personal objectives of presidents
and other high officials. While the agencies often committed excesses in response to
pressure from high officials in the Executive branch and Congress, they also occasionally
initiated improper activities and then concealed them from officials whom they had a duty
to inform.
-
- Governmental officials -- including those whose principal duty is to enforce the law
--have violated or ignored the law over long periods of time and have advocated and
defended their right to break the law.
I assure you, these same crimes and unconstitutional atrocities - not
wiretapping - are occurring now.
I hope you will still believe that the egregious crimes of members of the
Federal Government then are still as egregious today, just as you must certainly be aware that
they are occurring at this moment.
I submit to you that you have been the
standard bearer for so many American people who have trusted you so long.
But, if you turn your
back on this issue, whether justice is served in the end or not - but, if YOU turn
your back on this issue, then I will know that in fact you, and
the United States Government, have simply trained alot of elephants to do amazing new
tricks. And, that the lead elephant's name is Jack Barnes.
Meanwhile, old elephants like me will never apologize for believing in the spirit of
America. I will never apologize for taking the pledge of allegiance seriously. I will
never apologize for standing up for Democracy as I did in 2000 and since. Thus, the
genesis of this site and dilemma.
And I will never feel anything but contempt for a pathetic Federal Agency or government
that harms citizens for - their published criteria - being a suspected terrorist for
quoting the Constitution, being a Christian, wearing blue jeans, owning an almanac or
reading a book, and counting votes in an election. I do all these things, and will
continue to do so.
You've asked me to believe. I've asked you to give me a
reason.
I have the audacity to hope you will... and
the tenacity to hold this government criminally responsible for their actions against
thousands of Americans in such tortuous ways. That is, after all, what the pledge of
allegiance is all about, isn't it?
I've kept my oath. Please keep yours.
Sincerely,
Charles Rehn
PS: No wonder the Intelligence Agencies have
taken out insurance to cover the costs of their prosecutions. It's time to revoke
their insurance.
"For the great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie - deliberate,
contrived and dishonest - but the myth - persistent, persuasive and unrealistic. Too often
we hold fast to the cliches of our forebearers. We subject all facts to a prefabricated
set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinions without the discomfort of
thought."
-- John F. Kennedy 1962
State of Massachusetts
Law on the Use of Electronic Weapons
SECTION 1. Chapter 140 of
the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 131J, as appearing in the
2002 Official Edition, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
Section 131J. No person shall possess a portable device or weapon
from which an electrical current, impulse, wave or beam may be directed, which current,
impulse, wave or beam is designed to incapacitate temporarily, injure or kill, except: (1) a federal, state or municipal law enforcement officer...
